Auxiliary gear shift lever for outboard motors



Dec. 8, 1959 w. F. MCKAY 2,915,915

AUXILIARY GEAR SHIFT LEVER FOR OUTBOARD MOTORS Filed Jan. 24, 1957INVENTOR. m1 mm A Ji /(AV,

"Ma/4M;

ATTORA [H 2 Sheets-Sheet; 1

Dec. 8, Y W. F-

AUXILIARY GEAR SHIFT LEVER FOR OUTBOARD MOTORS Filed Jan. 24, 1957 v 2Sheet s-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. M1 4 44M F. Al /(AV,

lay/M15 ATTOR/Vfkf United States Patent AUXILIARY GEAR SHIFT LEVER FOROUTBOARD MOTORS William F. McKay, Indianapolis, Ind. Application January24, 1957, Serial No. 636,104 7 Claims. (Cl. 74-480) The presentinvention relates to an auxiliary gear shift lever for outboard motors,and more particularly to an attachment for motors of the type providedwith a manually manipulable control for the selective gear transmission,such attachment providing a lever, readily accessible to the operator ofsuch a motor, and operatively connected to the conventional control.

In outboard motors of the character here under consideration, it isconventional to provide a tiller and a speed control which are readilyaccessible to an operator seated on the port side of a boat on which themotor is supported, but to mount the control for the selective geartransmission on the starboard side of the motor and in a position whichis relatively inaccessible to an operator seated on the port side of aboat. The primary object of the present invention, then, is to provide areadily-mountable and demountable attachment for such motors, includinga lever, positioned for ready manipulation by an operator seatedanywhere in or near the stern of the boat, and operatively connected tothe conventional transmission control device, to facilitate manipulationof the latter. Further objects of the invention will appear as thedescription proceeds.

To the accomplishment of the above and related objects, my invention maybe embodied in the form illustrated in the accompanying drawings,attention being called to the fact, however, that the drawings areillustrative only, and that change may be made in the specificconstruction illustrated and described, so long as the scope of theappended claims is not violated.

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of my attachment mounted on a motor which isfragmentarily and conventionally illustrated;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation thereof;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view of a detail;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary elevation of a conventional controlelement;

'Fig. 5 is an enlarged, fragmentary elevation of such a control elementand the adjacent end of a connector constituting an element of myattachment; and

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary plan view, taken partly in section on the line6-6 of Fig. 5.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, a part of a conventionaloutboard motor is indicated generally by the reference numeral 10. At11, I have illustrated a manually manipulable element connected to arock shaft 12 forming a part of the gear transmission through which thepower of the motor may be delivered to the propeller (not shown). Inaccordance with conventional practice, the transmission is of suchcharacter that, when the element 11 is in its illustrated position, thepropeller will not be driven; when the lever is moved appropriately in aclockwise direction from its illustrated position, the propeller will bedriven in a direction to drive the boat forwardly; and when the element11 is shifted appropriately in a counter-clockwise direction from itsillustrated position, the propeller will be driven in a direction todrive the boat rearwardly. As will be clear from 0 of motor now on themarket, such means comprises a pin 13 projecting from the motor frame ina starboard direction, and a tapped hole immediately above the pin.

An attachment constructed in accordance with the present invention isindicated generally by the reference numeral 14, and includes anL-shaped bracket 15, a lever 16 and link means 17. The short arm 18 ofthe bracket 15 is formed with an opening 19 therethrough adapted snuglyto receive the above-mentioned pin 13, and with another hole which, whenthe bracket is mounted on the pin 13, will register with theabove-mentioned tapped hole to receive a screw 20. Thus, the pin 13 andscrew 20 constitute means for mounting the bracket 15 rigidly in placeon the motor 10 so that, when the motor is removed from the boat, thebracket and its associated parts may remain, as an assembly, inoperative association with the motor and will be there, ready for use,when the motor is again mounted on the boat.

The other arm 21 of the bracket 15 projects generally forwardly to apoint beyond the forward end of the motor 10, and supports a pivot pin22 upon which the lower end of the lever 16 is mounted for oscillation.Preferably, the upper end of the lever 16 will carry a knob 23.

Intermediate its ends, the lever 16 is formed with a flattened region 24through which is formed a perforation to receive a pivot pin 25 whichpasses, also, through perforations in the arms 26, 26 of a clevis 27,said arms straddling the flattened region 24. The opposite end of theclevis 27 is formed with an internally threaded, axial bore in which isadjustably received a threaded section 28 at one end 29 of a rod 30.

The other end 31 of the rod 30 is formed with a plurality of axiallyspaced, transverse bores 32, and is telescopically received in an axialbore 33 of a sleeve 34. Said sleeve 34 is formed with a transaxial bore35 with which any one of the bores 32 may be registered to receive alocking screw 36. I

A transaxial bore 37 is formed through that extremity of the sleeve 34opposite that through which the bore 33 opens; and preferably saidsleeve end is flattened as at 38 and 39 in planes normal to the axis ofthe bore 37.

A pin 40 is reciprocably mounted in the bore 37, said pin having aknurled head 41 at one end and preferably being tapered, as at 42, atits opposite end. Near the tapered end 42 of the pin 40, a pin 43 ismounted in a transaxial bore to project radially oppositely from saidpin 40.

As is most clearly illustrated in Figs. 4 and 6, the element 11 ispreferably formed with opposite flat surfaces 44 and 45 intermediate itsends, and in the region of those surfaces, said element is formed with adouble keyhole bore comprising a cylindrical section 46 anddiametrically opposite wings 47 and 48.

It will be seen that the threaded engagement of the portion 28 of therod 30 with the clevis 27 provides for adjustment of the rod 30 relativeto said clevis; and that the provision of the plural bores 32 forcooperation with the screw 36 provides for axial adjustment of thesleeve 34 relative to the rod 30. With the bracket 15 in place on themotor 10, the lever 16 mounted on the pivot 22 and the clevis 27 mountedon the pivot 25, the lever 16 the pin 40 rotated to a position such asto bring theends' of the pin 43 into registry with the wings'47 and 48,the

pin 40 is projected through the bore 46 until the pin' 43 emerges beyondthe surface 45.. Thereupon, the pin 40 will be rotated upon its axis tomove the pin 43 out of registry with the key-hole wings 47 and 48, inthe for concurrent registration with connector means conventionallyprovided on such a motor, and said means securing said bracket tosaid'motor includes at least one screw passing through one of saidopenings and threadcdly received in a threaded opening in said motorregistering therewith.

3. The combination of claim. 1 in which said link means comprises atleast two, relatively axially adjustable elements.

manner illustrated in Fig. 5, whereby withdrawal of the pin 40 from thebore 46 is prevented. Preferably, a coiled spring 49 will be sleeved onthe pin 40 and will be confined between the surface 38 andthe enlarged,knurled head 41. With the parts in the relative positions of Fig. 6, thespring 49 is greatly compressed and will \tend to hold the pin 43against the surface 45 with sufiicient force'to prevent accidentalrotational movement of the pin 40.

It Will be clear that; thus, the lever 16 has been operatively connectedto the element 11 so that, if said lever 16 is moved in either directionfrom its illustrated position, the element 11 will be correspondinglymoved in a corresponding direction. Since the lever 16 is bodilypositioned ahead of the forwardmost portion of the motor 10, it isreadily accessible for manipulation by an operator' seated on the portside of the motor. And since the disclosed attachment as a whole issupported directly from the motor, it is unnecessary to disassemble theattachment or to remove any of its parts from any extraneous supportswhen the motor is, for any reason, removed from the boat. p

7 I claim as my invention:

1. The combination with an outboard motor having atransmission-ratio-selector element mounted wholly' on that side of themotor remote from the normal position of an operator for oscillationabout an axis located a significant distance astern the forward end ofthe motor, of an attachment comprising a bracket, means securing saidbracket to said motor, a lever, means providing a pivotal mounting forsaid lever on said bracket, said bracket being so proportioned andarranged as to dispose an .arm of said lever forwardly beyond the bodyof said motor, link means having one end pivotally connected to saidlever at a point spaced from said pivotal mounting means, and meanscarried by said link means for establishing an operative connectionbetween said link means and such a selector element.

2. The combination of claim 1 in which said bracket is formed with apair of spaced openings therethrough 4. The combination of claim 1 inwhich said link means comprises a clevis pivotally attached to saidlever, and a rod axially threadedly adjustably connected to said clevis.

5. The combination of claim 1 in which said link means comprises aclevis pivotally attached to said lever, a rod having one end axiallythreadedly adjustably connected to said clevis, an elementtelescopically associated with the other end of said rod, and means forselectively connecting said element with said rod in any one of aplurality of positionsof relative axial adjustment.

6. The combination of claim 1 in which said lastnamed means comprises apin reciprocably mounted in a transaxial bore in said link means andhaving a radial projection therefrom near one end thereof, and springmeans resiliently urging said projection toward said link means, saidend of said pin being projeotible through a key-hole opening in such aselector element.

7. The combination with an outboard motor having, at one side thereof, ahand-operated control for manually controlling a gear shift, of anattachment comprising a bracket formed with two spaced openingsItherethrough for concurrent registration with attachment means providedon the same side of said motor, and further formed to project forwardlybeyond the front end of said motor -when said openings so register withsuch attachment means, a lever, means pivotally supporting said leverfrom said bracket near the forward end thereof, a link having one endpivotally connected to said lever, and means carried'by said link nearthe opposite end thereof and operatively engaged with said control.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

